Why we have a love-hate relationship with ‘disgust’

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Why do we watch disturbing horror movies or gross-out comedies? Why are so many of us repulsed by anything oozy, wiggly, or putrid?

Psychologist Rachel Herz answers these questions and more in her new book “That’s Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion.” Disgust, according to Herz, is one of the six basic human emotions, the only one that is unique to humans, and is a product of both instinct and culture.

Herz maintains that disgust significantly shapes our culture and our everyday lives by way of our diets, sex lives, social etiquette and more.

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What vile things repulse you and why? What disgusting things fascinate you? In what ways has the feeling of disgust influenced your everyday life?

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